Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 724,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 158,675 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $26,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of NI opened at $37.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.09.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.